Next week, if all goes well, someone will win the presidency. What happens after that is anyone’s guess. Will the losing side believe the results? Will the bulk of Americans recognize the legitimacy of the new president? And will we all be able to clean up the piles of lies, hoaxes and other dung that have been hurled so freely in this hyper-charged, fact-free election?

Banging on about Brexit five months after the referendum may be boring to Brexiters who have wrapped themselves in the red, white and blue flag of the “people’s will”. But it is such a threat to universities it can’t just be tidied away into a box labelled “summer madness”. The threat comes in three parts. The first can be managed, although with difficulty; the other two are more deadly.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to demonstrate against gay marriage and to call for candidates in next year's presidential election to support "traditional family values".